Imagine a young girl on Sigulu island in Namayingo district, her body bruised, her spirit broken, walking miles to a health facility only to be turned away; not for lack of compassion, but because the law prevents the available enrolled nurse from documenting the evidence she needs to access justice.
Now picture a mother in Hoima's Tonya village, weighing the cost of a long, expensive trip to a distant hospital in Buseruka against the painful reality of watching her abuser walk free. These are not isolated gender-based violence cases. They are everyday realities for countless women and girls in rural Uganda.
This year's 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) theme is "NoExcuse: UNiTE to End Violence Against Women" calls upon everyone especially leaders, policymakers and communities to confront the injustices in our justice systems to deny survivors the justice and dignity they deserve.
The law only authorises clinical officers or doctors to fill the critical Police Form 3A for GBV survivors. But we know that many of our rural health facilities such as Sigulu island's Bumalenge Health Centre and Hoima's Runga and Tonya health centres exemplify the glaring gaps in access to justice.
Survivors rely on these facilities, but with no clinical officers or doctors, they are trapped in a system that fails them. Health centre IIs in Uganda, such as Bumalenge, Runga and Tonya, are lifelines for isolated communities but they lack the capacity to fully support GBV survivors due to outdated policies and resource constraints.
Delay in medical documentation leads to the loss of crucial evidence, making it difficult to build strong legal cases. The financial and emotional toll of pursuing justice further exacerbates the situation, forcing many survivors to abandon their cases altogether.
This cycle of frustration and inaction allows perpetrators to walk free, eroding trust within communities and undermining confidence in the very systems designed to protect them. Question is; is it possible to break the cycle of denial and impunity?
Yes, it is possible. First by amending the policies to allow rural health facilities manned by lower-cadre health workers to fill the all-important Police Form 3A, which will allow nurses and midwives to document GBV cases expand access to justice for survivors in rural and hard-to-reach areas; equip health centre IIs to act as effective first responders, ensuring timely care and documentation for survivors; enrolled nurses should receive training in trauma-informed care, evidence documentation, and GBV case management, enabling them to provide professional and empathetic support to survivors.
Rural health facilities must be equipped with private counselling spaces, forensic kits, and other essential tools to deliver survivor-centred care in a confidential and secure environment. Local leaders must be engaged to champion justice for women and girls, and actively support survivors.
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There is need for the health and justice sectors to collectively work in handling of GBV cases, ensuring seamless transitions from documentation to prosecution and; integrating legal aid services into rural health centres and community to meet both their medical and legal needs under one roof.
The time for change is now. We must break down barriers and ensure that every survivor, no matter where they live, should choose between safety and financial survival. No community should lose faith in a justice system that ought to protect them.
The writer is a health rights lawyer at Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD).
